Never Too Late

National radio broadcaster and author of seven books, including Second Thoughts, shares his essays, which are like the voice of an old friend - kind, encouraging and filled with gentle wisdom. To learn more about Mort Crim and hear a daily “Second Thought,” visit www.mortcrimsecondthoughts.com

Has anybody ever tabulated just how much time and energy we waste bemoaning all those “if onlys” in life? If only I’d taken that job ten years ago. If only I’d started my own business.

Bought that stock. Married that special person. If only I’d finished school.

My father was a college dean, and one day a woman he knew was regretting the fact that she’d never completed college. Dad urged her to go back. After all, there are plenty of adults going back to school, taking night courses, correspondence courses, or courses on the Internet.

Opportunities are often things you haven’t noticed the first time around.

CATHERINE DENEUVE

Yet She was frustrated by one fact:

“Dr. Grim, I’m fifty-five years old. Going to school part time, it would take me five years to earn my degree. Why, in five years I’ll be sixty.”

Dad thought for a moment, then replied, “Tell me, how old will you be in five years if you don’t earn your degree?” Hockey star Wayne Gretzky once said that we miss 100 percent of the shots we never take. It’s never too late to shoot for some new goals.

The best response to a missed opportunity is to catch it on its way around the next time.